We will be in East Hadaam for the 10/2 week and were hoping to go to a country house we have outside of Ava, MO. Our usual route is I-84 > I-81> I-80 > I-76 > I-70 > I-44 > US 60 > MO 5. I'm trying to find a 2-3 day route (includes 1-2 hotel nights) that goes fairly out of the way and a 1-2 day shorter but still out-of-the-way route back, but am not familiar with Interstates/US routes/highways west and south of Pittsburgh. I'd like some help with this.

Logged

"Life is a highway, and I want to drive it all night long!" -Tom CochraneSee my photos at: http://bit.ly/1Qi81ws

Assume your usual route is I-76 -> I-71 -> I-70.Interesting stuff to check out between roughly PGH and Ava:* I-79 through WV is a very scenic Interstate* I-70 Wheeling tunnel* US 40 National Road "S" Bridges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_bridge) among other old Natty Rd bridges* US 22 from Zanesville to Cinci is a nice cutoff for I-70 to I-71* Bridges of Ashland, KY and Huntington, WV and the OH 7 freeway stub* KY 4 loop in Lexington* I-265 bridge construction northeast of Louisville (if you can find a viewing spot)* New I-69 in Indiana from Evansville north (and US 41 bridges)* Mutton BBQ of Owensboro, KY* KY 80/US 68, The Trace, and other roads of Land Between the Lakes* US 60/62 bridges south of Cairo (and Cairo itself if you're a fan of urban decay and blight)

Returning, take US 60 east across Missouri and across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers into Kentucky, and make your way to Mayfield. Then use the KY 80/US 68/Cumberland Parkway/Hal Rogers Parkway corridor to Hazard. Then either stay on KY 80 east to US 23 south to Pikeville, or KY 15 south to US 119 north to Pikeville. From Pikeville, take US 119 north to Charleston, WV, then you can take I-79 north to I-68 east to I-70 east. Then, I-81 north to whatever route you want to use east back to Connecticut.

Variations on a theme:

From Payne Gap, Ky. (near Jenkins), take US 23 south to Alt. US 58 east to US 19, then take it north to Bluefield. Then follow I-77 to Beckley, where US 19 splits (crossing the New River Gorge bridge) to I-79.

To get Tennessee:

Where the KY 80/Hal Rogers Parkway corridor crosses I-75 at London, go south to Corbin and then US 25E south through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, then either US 11W or I-81 north to Bristol, then to Abingdon and US 19 north.

My relatives used to take US 460 from south of Pikeville out to Bluefield to get out of eastern Kentucky (through Grundy, or as my father used to call it, "Grungy"). Now, US 460's definitely one of the slower alternatives.

Logged

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

My relatives used to take US 460 from south of Pikeville out to Bluefield to get out of eastern Kentucky (through Grundy, or as my father used to call it, "Grungy"). Now, US 460's definitely one of the slower alternatives.